The Sentinel’s gaze lingered on them, old sorrow flickering in his ageless eyes. “That is what happened in the past.”

The chamber was silent.

Adrian, Thomas, Elara, Ironwood, Kael, each of them felt the same crushing truth.

Against empires that spanned hundreds of stars and demons who devoured worlds, they were nothing more than dust. A forgotten backwater planet trembling on the edge of annihilation.

But the same thought sparked in every mind. What about the Celestial Eleven?

They were Earth’s champions. For thousands of years, they had been away, fighting in the galaxy. Had they surpassed SSS-rank by now?

Adrian voiced the question they all carried. “What of the Celestial Eleven? What happened to them?”

All eyes turned to the Sentinel, hope burning in their gazes. For all their doubts about the empires, the Celestial Eleven were theirs, Earth’s first heroes, Earth’s pride.

The old guardian sighed. “To be honest… I do not know their full fate. After they departed into the galaxy, only Aurelia returned to Earth, on rare occasions.”

The name alone stirred something in the room. Aurelia. She should be the only female warrior they saw among the twelve warriors just now.

“She came back only to deliver resources,” Sentinel explained, “treasures they gathered in the galaxy, and to check on Earth. That is how we received the three Volumes of the Language of Mana. Humanity’s foundations… came from the Eleven.”

His expression grew distant, as if recalling conversations burned into memory.

“Whenever I asked Aurelia how they fared… she revealed little. She told me that when they first entered the galaxy, they thought that learning galactic concepts would grant them recognition. That their strength as SSS-rank would set them apart. But the truth was cruel.”

The Sentinel’s voice hardened. “Out there, SSS-rank is the entry stage. There are countless beings at that level. The Eleven, who were like gods here, were reduced to foot soldiers in the galaxy’s wars.”

Elara’s hand clenched into a fist. “Foot soldiers?”

“Yes, and Aurelia warned me of another truth.”

“Demons are evil, cruel beyond measure, killing for hunger and sport.”

His voice deepened. “But that does not make the empires saints. Within them lurk the same kind of evil, the same cruelty dressed in armor of law. Wherever there is strength, there are those who use it to crush the weak.”

Kael’s jaw tightened. The space around him rippled with tension.

Stolen novel; please report.

“Some call it duty. Others call it pleasure.” He paused, his voice low. “And I am certain of one thing, if Aurelia or the others had surpassed SSS-rank, she would have told me. So they are still struggling out there.”

The words left the chamber heavy with silence. Their hearts sank.

If the Eleven were still foot soldiers even after thousands of years… then what chance did Earth have?

Adrian’s heart clenched. Malakor had nearly ended humanity. Yet Malakor had been nothing more than one SSS-rank.

“A foot soldier.”

Then, how terrifying were the true warriors of the Demon Empire? Of the six great empires?

Ironwood finally broke the silence. “Then… how do we survive this?”

The Sentinel’s eyes sharpened. “Until now, only the Celestial Eleven have gone into the galaxy. But now the Earth has awakened.”

“This time, more will join them. With greater numbers, our race has a chance.” His gaze swept across them all. “For now, this is our only path.”

He looked away, his tone dimming. “It has been centuries since Aurelia last returned. I have no way to contact her. But she will come again. When she does, it will be the day for some of you to depart with her. Until then, grow stronger.”

The words settled like in everyone.

Resolve flickered in their eyes. Weak as they might seem before the galaxy, they stood strong.

Then Sentinel’s gaze fixed on Adrian. “Child. You will be the first candidate to depart. You are the first to reach SSS-rank after Earth’s awakening.”

Thomas stepped forward instinctively. His jaw worked, but no words came.

Elara’s breath caught. “He’s barely seventeen.”

The Sentinel’s expression remained unmoved. “The galaxy does not care for age. Only strength.”

Thomas and Elara stiffened, unease plain on their faces. They had just watched their son ascend into something beyond comprehension, but the thought of sending him into the jaws of the galaxy still cut them.

The Sentinel noticed. His tone softened slightly, but his words carried no compromise. “I know he is young. But Earth has no other choice. And he will not go alone. Some of you here will join him.”

Kael’s space affinity rippled with tension. “How many?”

“Unknown. Aurelia decides based on what the Eleven need.” The ancient guardian’s eyes swept across them. “But Adrian’s essence makes him invaluable.”

“Adrian’s seed bloomed only because of the Abyss core. For the rest of you… you cannot bloom your essence by waiting on Earth. You must step into the galaxy. Only there, by comprehending galactic concepts, can your essence awaken.”

Ironwood clenched his fists. “Then we train until she comes.”

“How long?” Thomas asked, his voice rough.

The Sentinel shook his head. “Decades. Centuries. She follows no schedule.”

No one argued. The galaxy operated on scales that dwarfed human planning.

“You all now know the truth of our situation,” the Sentinel said at last. “Go. Grow strong. When Aurelia returns, be ready. Your fates lie beyond the stars.”

They bowed as one and withdrew. The massive doors groaned shut behind them with finality.

The chamber doors closed behind them.

None spoke as they walked the long corridor back to the lift. Their footsteps echoed in the vast space, each sound a reminder of how small they were.

Silence hung heavy, but not with despair. Something harder burned in their eyes now.

The lift descended through floors of golden runes. Each level represented decades of human progress, but it felt insignificant now.

Kael finally broke the quiet. “The academy will need to change. Everything will.”

“The entire Organization will,” Elara said. Her voice carried the weight of a mother’s love and a warrior’s resolve. “If we’re sending our children to war among the stars…”

Thomas placed a hand on Adrian’s shoulder. “Then we make sure they’re ready.”

The galaxy might be vast, merciless, unyielding. But Earth’s defenders had faced impossible odds before.

But they would not cower. The Abyss had proven that much.

And Adrian, Adrian carried more than hope. He carried the first essence seed of Earth’s awakening.

The day would come when humanity’s banners would fly in the galaxy. When the Celestial Eleven would no longer fight alone.

When Earth would claim its place among the stars.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep